Saudi Arabia’s air force carried out secret strikes on Iranian territory in late March in response to attacks on the kingdom’s infrastructure.
As Reuters news agency reports, citing Western and Iranian official sources, this is the first known case in which Riyadh has carried out direct military action on the territory of its regional rival.
This step indicates a change in Saudi Arabia’s strategy, which is now ready to respond to strikes with its own forces, not limited to protecting the US “military umbrella”.
Despite the military actions, the parties managed to avoid a full-scale war. According to Reuters, the strikes were followed by intensive diplomatic dialogue, which led to an informal agreement between Tehran and Riyadh on de-escalation.
According to experts, this was a pragmatic choice of the parties to prevent an uncontrollable regional conflict, after which the number of missiles and drones launched directly from Iran has sharply decreased.
However, the kingdom remains vigilant, sending notes of protest to neighboring Iraq, from where pro-Iranian groups continue to target Saudi territory.
